The Secrets Within My Heart
by Green Smoak
Summary: Felicity Smoak is in love with her best friend Oliver Queen. She had been in love with him since high school. "I'm going to tell him tonight," she told her reflection.
1. Unwittingly Crush

Felicity Smoak was in love with her best friend Oliver Queen. She had been in love with him since high school.

"I'm going to tell him tonight," she told her reflection. She and Oliver had a standing dinner date, minus the date part, every Thursday. He had taken her out for dinner after her first week working at Queen Consolidated. Well technically it was the first four days, not the first week because he had 'club stuff' to do on Fridays.

"Tell who what?"

"Caitlin!" Felicity all but jumped out of her skin. "When did you get home?"

"About two _'I'm going to tell him tonight'_s ago," she smirked at her roommate. "Can I assume that Oliver is 'him'?" She nodded her head in agreement. "And you're going to tell him…"

"Everything! Well, not _everything _everything. I can't tell him everything in the whole world. Not that I even know everything in the whole world, I mean, I smart, but I'm not that smart."

"This is a good thing, you telling Oliver that you love him."

"But what if he doesn't love me?"

"He does," she told her firmly.

"How do you know?"

"I can tell by the way he looks at you."

"That piece of evidence is very conclusive," Felicity reasoned as she began to pace around the living room. "Have you ever tried that winking thing? You know, wink like you have a secret, wink like you're encouraging someone, wink like you're flirting with someone, wink like you're joking with someone. They all feel different to you, but they're all the same to the person watching you. So he could be flirting with me or her could just be joking with me."

"Felicity."

"I mean, I've seen him look at me just as much as you have and I don't see anything, so maybe you're just projecting."

"Felicity."

"Or maybe I'm projecting and I just can't see something that is actually there. Or maybe-"

"Felicity!"

Caitlin led Felicity to their couch and took both her hands in her own. "If he didn't love you, then he wouldn't have come to Cambridge when you and Cooper broke up or he wouldn't have convinced his dad to let you use a QC satellite for you project." Caitlin reached up to tuck a stray blonde strand behind her ear. "If he didn't love you he wouldn't have dressed up in tights and pretended to be Robin Hood just to make you laugh."

Just remembering those things brought a smile to her face.

"If Ronnie taught me anything, it's that every moment matters and you and Oliver don't need to waste anymore."

Felicity rested her hand on top Caitlin's one in an attempt to comfort her friend.

She could see that the memories of her lost love were running across the her face, longing for a happier time. Felicity used to love to watch them together. It gave her hope that there was someone out there for everyone. She could see how much they loved each other in every little interaction.

"He loves you," Caitlin stated, "I'm absolutely sure of it."

"But what if he only loves me as a friend? What if this ruins our friendship?"

Caitlin smiled wryly. "If it ruins your friendship, then it wasn't much of a friendship to begin with. But if I'm wrong about him and he doesn't love you, then you will know for sure and you can move on."

Felicity could not fault her logic, but somehow even considering the idea of moving on from Oliver felt like her heart was being squeezed until it wouldn't beat anymore. Even when she dated Cooper, she had this image of someday with Oliver and it was much easier to hide Oliver away when they lived on opposite sides of the country.

"Lis, if Oliver decides that you're not the one for him, it's not the end of the world." Caitlin averted her eyes, looking down at their intertwined hands. "In fact there's this guy that I met at work that would be perfect for you. His name is Barry."

"Are you really trying to set me up? Right now?"

"Well, technically I set you guys up earlier today for a dinner date on Saturday," she clarified, "but that was before I knew about you momentous plans tonight."

"I hate blind dates."

"I know, but he's perfect for you"

"That's what Ronnie said that time he set me up with that engineer, who only talked about the robot he was building."

"I'll admit that one was a disaster."

"What about the Mathematician, who named all his dogs after mathematical theorems."

"He was kind of cute."

"Yes, cute until you heard him yelling Bolzano-Weierstrass at his tiny Yorkshire Terrier."

Felicity thanked her lucky stars that she had a friend like Caitlin. The diverting, albeit somewhat annoying, conversation had calmed her nerves about the impending dinner. So much so that she was now in front of the mirror again assessing her appearance.

"I'm not even going to consider going on another one of your blind dates."

"And hopefully after tonight I never have to ever again," she added softly to herself.

* * *

><p>"So, how's your stalker going?"<p>

"He's not my stalker."

"You've been back in Starling City for one month and he's asked you out thirteen times. I think that qualifies him for stalker status."

"It's actually fifteen times now," She corrected him. "He asked me out twice since the last time that I saw you."

Oliver's mouth twisted into a smug smirk as if to say 'you're proving my point for me'.

"This guy sounds like such a creeper."

"Ray's not that bad, he's just…determined. Determined to get me to go out with him," Felicity said. "Oh wow, that sounds so narcissistic, no not narcissistic. Narcissism is admiring my own attributes - which I absolutely am not doing." She punctuated it with a wave of her hand. "What's the word I'm looking for?" She twisted her hands in front of her face as if to jog her memory and finally declared, "Egocentric!"

He reached for her hand before she could elaborate.

"Felicity."

She turned to the sound of his voice. His gaze was so intense, she was sure that he could see right into her soul.

"You're neither narcissistic nor egocentric."

His blue eyes reflected such sincerity, it demanded her belief.

This is the moment, she told herself. She could see what Caitlin was talking about, the love that was in his stare. Empowered by this knowledge she opened her mouth to put her heart on her sleeve.

But a tall blonde shadow loomed over their table before she could speak.

"How is the food, Mr Queen?"

It didn't escape her attention that the waitress didn't address her at all, her interest solely reserved for the handsome billionaire. The moment had passed and Oliver had let go of her hand to politely answer the waitress. Felicity returned her attention to the steak in front of her, not wanting to watch the beautiful, leggy woman throw herself at her Oliver.

Felicity rolled her eyes at the interaction. The woman had used every excuse to come and talk to Oliver, to flirt with Oliver, to giggle at Oliver, and to touch Oliver. And Oliver, being the playboy that he was, would grace her with a charming smile, leaving enough of an impression so that he could pursue her later on, if he so desired.

The waitress, who was oblivious to the old couple who were trying to flag her down, was now gesturing to the watch on her wrist and gushing about it to a technologically illiterate Oliver. Felicity recognised it as the one of the smart watches that QC had developed. Felicity let out a bark of laughter when she realised that the woman thought Oliver had something to do with the production of the watches. This caused her to turn and glare at the other blonde, which may or may not have been the first time she had looked at her all night.

"I think that man is trying to get your attention." She pointed to the old couple.

Felicity had a grin plastered on her face as the waitress huffed off to serve another table.

"What's so funny?"

"You know who made those watches, right?" Oliver shook his head with his brows furrowed. "Ray Palmer."

"Your stalker?"

"Mmhmm," she affirmed, taking a sip of her wine. "And I've been fixing them all day."

"So, they're not even good watches."

"No, they're _great_ watches," she said. "Ray messed with a few of them, so they would malfunction and then when I fixed them, they would play a message of him asking me out." She let out a slight smile at Ray's creativity. "He really knows the way to an IT girl's heart."

"Maybe I should ask him to give me a few pointers."

Felicity gasped mockingly.

"Are you telling me Oliver Queen, the Casanova of Starling City, the breaker of women's hearts all over the country, was shot down?"

"Repeatedly," Oliver admitted.

"Maybe we should get _your _stalker," she nodded her head at the waitress, who was once again looking in their direction, "to talk you up."

"I think that would do more harm than good."

Felicity studied her best friend. He wasn't his usual cocky self. She would never have described him as insecure when it came to women until this moment. He had what she called his 'brooding face' on and suddenly she knew. She knew that somehow this girl was more important to him than any other.

"Felicity," he started, "I think I'm in love."

She felt like an arrow had been shot through his heart. _He thinks that he is in love? _Never in a millions years did she think he was going to say that.

"What should I do, Felicity?"

Felicity was speechless. Of all the ways that she had pictured herself being rejected tonight, this was not one of them. Oliver had never shown more than a weekends interest in any woman other than herself. He'd never given any indication of a passing likeness to a woman much less love.

"Great," he said sarcastically, "even my best friend doesn't believe me." He sighed. "How am I going to get her to?"

"Does she have a name?"

"Laurel Lance."


	2. Accidentally Confess

**A/N: Thank you to all the guests who reviewed and I couldn't reply to. Also thanks to the 97 people who are following this story. I'm kind of freaking out that so many people liked the first chapter that a rewrote this one way too many times. Hope you enjoy. :D**

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><p>"I'm Felicity," she slurred.<p>

"Lis?"

Caitlin had been woken up by her roommate's clumsy movements in the kitchen.

"I'm Felicity."

"Yes, you are," she placated her inebriated counterpart. She located Felicity sitting on a stool leaning against the kitchen bench, taking swigs out of a red wine bottle.

"No!" Felicity stressed. "I'm Fel-i-ci-ty."

Caitlin sighed sadly. She didn't need a second guess to find out the reason for her roommate's sudden urge to drink her weight in red wine.

"Yes, I know," she said. "You're Felicity Smoak."

"No, not Felicity _Smoak_," she emphasised. "Felicity Felicity."

Caitlin was just plain confused now.

"I can't remember her surname." She began to giggle. "Surname." Her laughter increasing, "Sir. Name."

She took a large gulp of wine.

"Do _you_ know her surname?"

She giggled again.

"Who's surname?"

"Felicity's."

"Felicity who?"

"You know; Felicity. Big hair Felicity," she slurred matter-of-factly. "Well not _big _hair. I'm sure her hair is just as big, or small, as anyone else's. She had puffy hair." Felicity put her hands around her head demonstrating the 'puffy hair'. "She had puffy hair like Herninny. Her-MI-o-nee."

"Hermione?"

"Yes, Hermione!" she exclaimed with a wave of her hands. Of course, she forgot that she was holding a bottle of wine and proceeded to spill its contents onto the counter. "Hermione with the puffy hair. Little Hermione, not the big, pretty Hermione." Felicity continued to compare the Hermiones of the different Harry Potter movies and the 'puffy-ness' of the character's hair in each one.

Although she didn't have any details, she had a feeling that the hangover that was bound to dominate her tomorrow wouldn't be the most painful thing that she would feel. So, Caitlin made a mental note to try and lessen any amount of pain that she could.

She wrestled the bottle away from her. "C'mon, you've had enough to drink. Time for bed"

"Hermione's hair is the prettiest in The Goblet, but it is the puffiest in The Philosopher's Stone."

Caitlin slung her plastered roommate's arm over her shoulder, glad that she wasn't fighting her attempts to carry her to her room.

"Felicity's hair was really puffy in season one."

"Ah, Felicity from the television show," Caitlin surmised. She remembered the show well. Felicity had a crush on a guy in high school and, on a whim, followed him to college across the country, only to find that he didn't like her the way she did.

"I'm season one Felicity. I have puffy hair. I travelled across the country"

"Yes, you travelled across the country to go to college, but who did you follow?" Felicity flopped onto her bed. "It wasn't Ronnie, was it?" She joked.

"No, not college."

Caitlin lifted the covers and tucked her into bed.

"I came back to Starling City for Oliver."

Felicity's drunken confession reverberated through her mind.

She had known that Felicity loved Oliver, but she'd never considered that she had moved back for the possibility of her and Oliver.

She had always assumed that Felicity had come back to Starling City for her after Ronnie's death. So when there was an opening in the Queen Consolidated IT department, Felicity jumped at the chance to be closer to her friend and support her in their time of grief.

When she had first told Caitlin that she was going to take a job at QC, she told her that she felt like Boston was lonely and all the people that mattered to her were living in Starling City. At the time, Caitlin thought that Felicity was exaggerating the intensity of her loneliness to convince her that her relocation was not solely because Ronnie had died and because she selfishly wanted her friend with her, she didn't press the point.

"Oliver is Ben," she turned over and mumbled into her pillow, "and I'm Felicity Felicity."

* * *

><p>Her head was full.<p>

Full of buzzing, like bees were trying to escape. The buzzing was accompanied by a shrill ringing. It felt like an elephant was sitting on her head. She wrenched her eyes open in an attempt to locate the source of her pain.

Groaning, she squeezed her eyes shut again, preventing the glare of the sun from reaching her vision. But it was too late, the brightness of the ball of fire had permeated into her mind, intensifying the buzzing, but the ringing had ceased.

She turned away from the windows and observed the familiar surroundings of her room.

Slowly she began to piece together the activities of the previous night.

Dinner with Oliver.

Oliver's confession.

That memory causes a pain in her heart matched that of her head.

Coming home and getting drunk.

That part was still a bit fuzzy.

The ringing began again.

"Urgh!" she groaned when she realised that it was coming from her phone.

She knocked over a glass of water as she reached for the offending object. She cursed the placement of the cup. And again when she saw the smug face of Ray Palmer on the screen of her phone.

"Go away!" she yelled, pressing the ignore button.

Felicity rolled off her bed to pick up the cup. When she placed it back on her nightstand, she noticed the note left there for her. She felt around for her glasses.

_Lis,_

_Take the aspirin, drink lots of water, and there are pancakes in the kitchen._

_I called your work and told them you weren't coming in._

_Talk to you tonight._

_-C_

She sent silent thanks to her roommate as she fumbled around for the aspirin on her nightstand. When she finally located the small, white pills, the screech of her phone rang in her ears again.

She found her phone again and clicked the ignore button again. This time remembering to put her phone on silent.

Aspirin in her hand she cursed herself for knocking over the glass of water. She never could swallow pills well. Momentarily she considered whether crushing and snorting was a viable option. Coming to her senses she decided to just go to the kitchen, since the pancakes were there anyway.

After downing the tablets, she got a fork and started hacking into the massive stack of pancakes that Caitlin left for her.

She frowned when the she tasted the cold temperature of the food.

Retrieving her phone from her pocket, she noted the time.

2:37.

She'd slept in past noon. She couldn't remember the last time she did that.

She saw that she had a multitude of missed calls and texts. The majority of them were from Ray and she groaned at the thought. Scrolling down she saw that most of the rest of them were from Oliver and that made her head pound even more. She really didn't want to deal with him today.

Discarding her phone, she continued her quest to the bottom of her plate.

Her mind slowly reassembling the specifics of the night before.

Last night she had disjointedly retold the night's occurrences to her roommate after she had been tucked into bed. She had relived every agonising moment of the dinner and now she was here doing it again. She squeezed her eyes shut in order to dull the ache in her heart and her head.

The loud banging that resounded on her door didn't help matters.

"Go away, go away, go away," she muttered under her breath. She hoped that if she didn't answer then whoever was trying to break down her door would assume no one was home.

The banging continued, but was now accompanied by the shouting of her name. Clearly whoever it was knew that she was home.

Reluctantly she went to see who it was.

She opened the door to a grinning Oliver. He dressed in a blue button up and jeans. Why did he have to look so good when she was an absolute mess. Her hair was everywhere and she was still in the previous night's clothes.

"I brought you soup," Oliver declared.

Felicity winced at the sound of his voice. "Shhhhh," she admonished, "not so loud."

"I brought you soup," Oliver whispered. "Chicken soup with noodles."

She opened the door wide, inviting him in. As much as she had wanted to avoid him, she couldn't just send him away when he was being so thoughtful. Also she couldn't resist how cute he looked when he ducked his head (because that's what you must do when you whisper) and lowered his voice.

"Why did you bring me soup?"

"Because you weren't feeling well last night," he reasoned. "And you weren't at QC, they said you called in sick."

Felicity forgot that she told him that she wasn't feeling well last night. She had needed a good excuse to cover up her shock, her heartbreak, and to get out of there as fast as she could. Especially when Oliver had asked her to help in his pursuit of Laurel.

She turned and found Oliver giving her a once over. He leaned in close and studied her eyes.

"Felicity, are you hungover?"

"Kind of."

"Kind of?" he queried. "I majored in hungover in college. I can tell when someone is hungover," Oliver said with a smile. "So, was your cure for a stomach ache to get drunk?"

"I was feeling a little better when I got home," she lied, "and I had a few drinks."

"A few?"

"It started as a few and then it turned into a few more than a few." She rested her head in the counter. "And now my head is being used as a drum set."

Oliver let out a chuckle at his friend. He moved around the island and began to rummage through her kitchen.

"Stop making noise," she grumbled. She felt around for something to throw at him, she settled on a dishtowel. Of course, it lacked any sort of aerodynamic properties, so it just flopped pathetically on the floor behind Oliver. "What are you doing anyway?"

"I'm making you a hangover cure," he stated.

"That may just be the only thing you can make in the kitchen."

"Hey," he gasped, "be nice or I won't share with you my expertise."

"Your expertise?"

"Yep, I went to four different colleges and this is what I learnt from them."

"And how many did you graduate from?"

"Felicity!" he help his hand to his chest feigning indignation, "you're a mean drunk."

"I'm not drunk."

"Well, you're a mean hungover person." He placed a cup of green goo in front of her. "Here drink this."

Felicity darted her eyes back and forth between the cup and the man. "I'm not drinking that."

"Why not?"

"It's green."

"So? You drink green stuff all the time."

"Like what?"

"Like that time you had that kale smoothie." He grinned.

"I didn't choose to drink that," she countered, "my crazy college roommate was on a health kick and she forced it down my throat."

"Mountain Dew."

"Don't drink it," she stated. "It looks like urine."

"Will you just drink it," he said, laughing at her antics. "I promise it'll make you feel better."

Felicity was already feeling a little better. Her conversation with Oliver was so light-hearted and carefree, it reminded of how they used to be in high school. And after the revelation of the previous night, Felicity welcomed the familiar feeling of this connection with Oliver.

"I'll drink it on one condition," she said, "you have to drink it as well."

Immediately, Oliver found another cup and proceeded to pour half the contents into his own. He held it up like a toast, challenging Felicity to do the same. "We'll drink it at the same time."

Felicity acquiesced, reluctantly picking up the glassful of sludge. "One, two, three." She gulped it down, letting it slide down her throat.

"That's disgusting!" Felicity shoved the empty glass back toward Oliver with a scowl on her face.

"Did it make you feel better?" Oliver asked, seemingly unaffected by his green concoction.

"No! It made me feel worse."

"Then, I'll make you another one," she said, turning back toward the kitchen.

"You know that's the definition of insanity, right? Doing the same thing and expecting different results."

"I'm not doing the same thing," he contradicted, "I'm making you a different hangover cure. I'm an expert. Remember?"

Felicity couldn't help, but laugh at his behaviour. His smile was so infectious and his determination to make her feel better warmed her heart.

The two of them carried on like this for a few hours; Oliver making stranger and stranger mixtures and Felicity claiming to not want to have any of it, but eventually relenting. Felicity was pretty sure that her counterpart had run out of hangover cures five drinks ago and was now just finding random things from her fridge to throw into the blender.

"I'm definitely not drinking that one."

"You said that about the last twenty drinks."

"Yeah, but this one has meat in it," she exclaimed. "You're going to give me diarrhoea"

"You're not going to get diarrhoea," they were both unable to keep a straight face at this point. "C'mon, Felicity, let's drink it together."

On the count of three, Felicity brought the glass to her lips, but didn't tip any of the contents into her mouth. Out of the corner of her eye she watched her tall friend down the drink in a single gulp and then wince as it reached his taste buds. She couldn't hold back the giggles in her throat when she saw that she had gotten away with it.

"You were supposed to drink it as well."

"I can't drink it," she smirked. "I became vegetarian since yesterday and I'll conveniently not be vegetarian the next time you see me."

He picked up her glass and moved around the island. Felicity rounded the island, keeping Oliver opposite her at all times. However, Oliver's longer arms and legs allowed him to catch the blonde. He pulled her into his arms, her back to his front, securing an arm across her torso to keep her from escaping. He brought the glass to her lips, but she bit her lips together, keeping the mouth sealed shut.

"Open up, Felicity," Oliver chanted. His free hand came up to her nose, but before he could pinch it his phone rang.

She used his distraction to say "Savedbythephone," as fast as she could, ensuring that her mouth was open for the smallest amount of time.

"Hello," he answered his phone as he let go of her. Immediately she missed his warmth against her back. She dismissed the thought as quickly as it came and began to clean up her kitchen.

"Tommy needs me at Verdant," he told her. "Are you okay if I leave?"

"I'll be fine, Oliver." She smiled at him. "Besides, I've had twenty of your hangover 'cures', so chances are I've been cured.

"Okay," he agreed, "just let my use your bathroom and then I'll head off."

"I told you you'd get diarrhoea," she called after him.

She resumed her cleaning, cringing at the state of her blender. She mentally cursed herself for allowing Oliver to use her blended for his twisted recipes.

Her front door opened and she saw her red headed roommate enter with a slightly nervous look on her face.

"Don't hate me," Caitlin started, "but I didn't cancel that blind date.

"Caaaaaity," she dragged her name out exasperatedly.

"Just hear me out, Lis" she pleaded. "It's a blind date, it doesn't have to mean anything. It can just be your chance to get over _him_ and put yourself out there."

Felicity's eyes widened at her words.

"Oliver is here," she hissed in a whispered shout.

And on cue, Oliver walked back into the room.

"You're trying to get over someone?" he asked confused. "I didn't even know you were in love with someone."

Caitlin shot her friend an apologetic look.

There was no point in denying it, he had clearly heard their conversation. "Um…yeah. But it's not really a big deal."

"Of course, it's a big deal, Felicity," he replied, clenching his jaw. "Why didn't you tell me? I told you about Laurel."

Oliver had unknowingly answered his own question. Felicity would have found it funny, if it weren't so heartbreaking.

"I don't know, I just didn't and it doesn't matter now because he doesn't see me the same way." Her heart was pounding like a jackhammer. This was the first time since Oliver confessed his love for Laurel that Felicity had concluded out loud that he didn't reciprocate her feelings.

"Is this why you got drunk last night?"

Caitlin could see tears beginning to well up in her friend's eyes. "Ollie," she waited for his blue orbs to meet hers, "maybe you should wait 'til Lis is feeling better to have this conversation," she pleaded, hoping she could save her blonde friend from her slip up.

He softened slightly. "Fine. Tommy needed me at the club anyway."

He headed for the door.

He lingered at the door for a moment. "Felicity, if this guy can't see how amazing you are, then he's an idiot."

And he left.


	3. Lovingly Plan

**A/N:** Thanks for all the follows, favourites and reviews. Sorry, that it has taken so long update. Enjoy.**  
><strong>

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><p><em>Did you come back for Oliver, or did you come back to be happy?<em>

Caitlin's words rung in her mind as she tapped her fingers on the table. For the longest time happiness and Oliver were the same thing. She had never imagined a happily ever after that didn't include Oliver.

Of course, as much as she'd never admit it out loud, she always assumed that if Oliver ever fell in love it'd be with her.

After a long series of apologies from Caitlin last night, they had a long in depth discussion about all that occurred this week. After many tears, apologies and confessions, the night had boiled down to that one haunting question; did you come back for Oliver, or did you come back to be happy?

And in trying convince herself, more than the other woman, that the latter was true, she'd finally agreed to go on the blind date that Caitlin had been badgering her about. So, this is how she ended up sitting on the floor alone in a traditionally decorated Japanese restaurant. For, what she guessed, would not be the last time tonight she questioned why she was doing this.

Well, in actual fact, she only agreed to the date on one condition; if she could set Caitlin up on a blind date as well. So, that's why she was doing this; to help Caitlin.

She was now entering the twentieth minute of waiting for her date; some guy named Barry Allen. Absent-mindedly she contemplated whether she could use her phone to hack the air conditioner that was pointed straight at her. It looked pretty easy, she deduced that the remote uses infrared and her brilliantly modified phone was more than capable.

Before she could put her plan into action, she at last heard a man asking for "Allen, party of two." Looking over, she corrected her initial assessment. He was more of a boy than a man. Dressing in jeans and a sweater, his attire starkly contrasted the semi-formal dress that she wore. And his nervous smile had the innocence of a young child.

As the hostess brought him over, she stood up to greet him.

"Felicity?" She nodded, shaking the hand he offered. "I'm sorry I'm late. Well it wasn't entirely my fault, my boss and I had a disagreement about the time that I start work because I was late this morning. That was my fault, I missed my bus."

Felicity smiled, this guy was adorable. They took their seats and picked up the menu.

"So, Barry, how are you going to salvage this date?" She asked playfully. "Currently you're on three strikes, but lucky for you I've never been much into sports."

"How can I have three strikes, I've been here two minutes?"

"One," she listed, holding out her index finger. "you we're late." He nodded, conceding that point. "Two: this is a blind date."

"Oh, c'mon, that's not fair," he countered. "You can't count that against me."

"Sorry, I've been burned before."

"We're any of them of the same gender as you?" he asked.

"No," she answered, her voice rising in pitch, "my friends know me better than that"

"Don't be so sure," he warned, "my best friend Iris convinced herself that the reason I didn't have a girlfriend was because I was gay."

"She set you up with a guy?"

"A big hairy biker." He said with his eyes wide in animation.

"You're making that up." She laughed along with him in disbelief.

"I swear, I'm not," he refuted. "When he turned up to the restaurant, I could feel the ground table shaking from the revving of his engine."

They both laughed as Barry recounted his 'date'. Even if his story wasn't an amusing one, she'd still be laughing along with him, his joy was infectious. She found that he was a really easy guy to get along with and have a conversation with.

"This isn't improving my view on blind dates," she said, still giggling at the story. "In fact, it's actually making it worse, which I didn't think was possible."

"Okay, I'll concede that blind dates are horrible," he chuckled. "Let me try to refute your third strike."

"The restaurant."

"You don't like Japanese food?" he asked incredulously. He looked so personally offended she almost rescinded her comment.

"I've never been a fan of raw food," she said. "I prefer my meals well-cooked and you always end up paying more for raw food. How does that work? They put less work into it and I have to pay more."

"This place may look traditional, Felicity, but we live in America. Here we take other people's cultures and cuisines and unapologetically bastardise them for our own personal enjoyment," he quipped. "Take Japanese food for example, usually not cooked and consisting generally of fish. And here, in America, Japanese food will include a very well-cooked fried chicken sushi."

"Wow," she couldn't help but laugh. "You'd slander your own country just to salvage a date. What a patriot!"

"I'm going to unilaterally change the face of blind dating with well-cooked chicken sushi," he declared with a grin.

The waitress approached their table and Barry proceeded to place orders that lacked any raw fish.

"So, Felicity," Barry started, "how do you know Caitlin?"

"She's my roommate," the blonde stated. "She was at Harvard when I was at MIT. I went to college with her fiancée, I met her through him."

"Caitlin's engaged?"

"She was," she replied, reaching up to fix her glasses. "Ronnie died in the earthquake last year."

"Oh." Barry wasn't sure how to respond. How do you respond when you find out that your friend is not only engaged, but that her fiancée died in an earthquake that claimed the lives of five hundred and three people in the Glades?

Felicity felt that pall that had fallen upon them. She noticed that the normally smiling man in front of her was watching his fingers run along a napkin and took it upon herself to move the conversation in a different direction. "So, Caity tells me that you work as a forensic scientist for the SCPD."

The grin returned to his face. "Yeah, Caitlin is teaching me the ins and outs of DNA profiling."

Barry proceeded to explain to Felicity the work that he had been doing with the SCPD and the different methods he had used to catch criminals. His face lit up as he spoke about the science of his work and the genetic profiling that he was doing with Caitlin. Barry's excitement was contagious as he told her stories of the strangest criminals in Starling City and the weird, but clever names that he had given them.

Felicity was surprised to find that she was not only enjoying the food, but the company. She had even contributed her own computer science expertise to his investigation. She loved how much he enjoyed his work in a I'm-doing-what-I-love sort of way, not a I'm-gonna-name -my-dogs-after-my-work sort of way.

"Why are you grinning at me like a fool?"

She looked down a released a breath. "I just like that you have so much passion for your work."

"Not as much as Caitlin," he replied. "You know she carries a vacutainer everywhere."

She laughed along with him. "Yes, she tried to take my blood the first time she met me," Felicity recalled. "She wanted to find out how my babbling affected by blood."

"She did the same to me. She wanted to find out why I can't hold my liquor," he countered. "She wouldn't accept that it was just because I hardly weigh anything."

"You know that correlation doesn't always hold true. I have this fat uncle. Am I allowed to say fat anymore? It's not really PC, is it? Well, I have a girth challenged uncle." Barry chuckled at her correction. "He should not be allowed within three feet of an alcoholic beverage. Seriously, he gets a whiff of the stuff and, I swear, he's drunk the next second. Hanukkah at our house is a nightmare."

"Everyone has a drunk uncle. It's like a rule of life."

"Yeah, but not everyone has a drunk Jewish uncle that insists on belting out Christmas carols when he's drunk."

As Barry told stories of the Christmases he had spent with his best friend, Felicity found that she felt so at ease with Barry. He had made her laugh and think and laugh some more. He was entertaining and he wasn't self-involved. She really enjoyed his company and was surprised to admit to herself that she would consider another date with him.

Except for one thing.

He was clearly in love with someone else. Throughout the night Felicity had noticed that the conversation repeatedly veered back to her red headed roommate. At first, she thought that she was imagining it. Then, she thought that she was the one bringing up her friend because she was so nervous about that date and Caitlin seemed like a safe topic. After the sixth time Caitlin's name came up Felicity was sure that it was Barry bringing her up. Felicity decided that she would test out her theory, she'd bring up a random topic and see if it led back to Caitlin.

"Next week Queen Consolidated is implementing their Help the Glades project. We're trying to help the businesses and schools in the Glades get back on their feet."

"What sort of things are you guys doing?" That was a good start. Genuine interest and nothing to do with a certain geneticist.

"The IT department is donating computers and revamping the emergency systems in all the buildings, but the main thing that QC is doing is their co-generation project. We're basically donating the excess energy generated by our building to the businesses and schools in the Glades."

"Last week, Caitlin-" Felicity erupted in laughter before he could finish his sentence.

Barry gawked confusedly at his counterpart, who was now laughing hysterically - at what, he could not guess. He shot her a bemused what-are-you-crazily-laughing-at-look.

When she regained her breath, she finally answered him, "I'm sorry," she said, "it's just this is the second time this week that I've had dinner with someone who's in love with someone else."

The brunette opened his mouth to protest, but could not come up with an explanation that he could stomach saying out loud. "Is it that obvious?" he asked.

"Only to a person with eyes, ears and a brain," she remarked. "You've talked more about Caitlin, than yourself tonight."

"You're not mad, are you?"

"Mad? That a cute, smart, funny guy likes one of my closest friends." Honestly, as much as she had enjoyed her date with Barry, this was completely different to Oliver saying he was in love with Laurel. And as much as she had told herself that this date was a chance to move on, her heart had had other ideas and she wasn't sure that she was ready to let go.

"You're really okay with it?"

"Yes," she assured. "Besides, I have a little experience in liking someone, who doesn't see you the same way." Their gaze locked in understanding. She felt strangely vulnerable with a man that was in the same boat as her and she desperately wanted to move on from the situation. Clearing her throat she continued, "Although, in your case, Caitlin may be open to seeing you the same way."

His face lit up. "Really?"

"She did spend quite a while talking you up to me."

"But that could mean anything, right? I mean, she was trying to get you to go on a blind date and she'd probably say anything about me just to get you to out with me," he babbled along. "And she talked you up to me as well. I mean we've firmly established that blind dates are built up and are generally disappointing or you end up having dinner with a burly biker. Not that that one wasn't disappointing as well. It was really disappointing." Barry noticed that Felicity was staring at him with an amused grin and he decided that this was a good point to stop talking.

"You really like her, don't you?"

He simply smiled.

"Can I tell you a secret?" he asked her.

"I think you owe me one after failing to rehabilitating blind dates."

"When I did my forensic science degree," he began, "I majored in DNA profiling."

"You're kidding?"

"Nope, I just wanted to borrow Caitlin's lab, but then she began to explain the genetics behind everything and I didn't have the heart to tell her," he confessed. "And it gave me an excuse to come see her again and again."

He was too cute. Felicity there and then decided that she would do everything in her power to get this adorable forensic scientist with her roommate.

"You're in luck."

"Why's that?"

"Well, the only way that Caity got me to agree to go on a blind date was if I was allowed to set her up on one as well."

"And you'll help me?" he was practically jumping out of his seat.

She nodded.

"But if you hurt her, I'll personally replace all the files on your computer with audio files of porcupine farts," she warned. "because after everything that happened with Ronnie, she can't have her heart broken on top of that.


	4. Nervously Ask

"Oliver? What are you doing here?"

They were at a school in the Glades, where QC was going to announce the implementation of their Help the Glades project.

"This is a Queen Consolidated event," he stated, "and I am Oliver _Queen_. Therefore one could conclude that I'm here for QC."

Felicity rolled her eyes. "You have never in your life attended a QC event willingly."

He grinned at her. "I was in the neighbourhood?"

"We're in the Glades, Oliver."

"I have a club in the Glades."

"Oliver," she warned. "Why are you here?"

He shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged his shoulders. "I just wanted to see you."

"You've seen me every day this this week." It had been a week since Oliver had turned up at her apartment with soup and ever since, he would appear at her work or her apartment and insist on hanging out. He had been really determined to hang out with her this week.

Normally she wouldn't protest spending time with her best friend, but given the revelations of the previous week, she had needed the time to sort out her feelings and what she wanted to do next. And that was something that would be infinitely more easy if he wasn't coming over with popcorn and a movie or dragging her out to Verdant every night.

"Are you getting sick of me?" he joked with a smirk.

Felicity held her stern gaze, trying to remain unaffected by his charm.

He sighed and looked down at his shoes. "I just…um…I'm…"

When he struggled to find the words, Felicity reached out and ran her hand up and down arm soothingly. Her actions caused him to lift his gaze to hers and he could see the pleading all over her face.

He dragged his hands over his face, composing himself. "I just feel like we're not as close as we used to be," he confessed.

"What? Why would you say that?"

"We used to tell each other everything," he replied. "And I didn't even know that you were in love with someone."

"Oh." She wasn't sure how to comfort him in this matter. She had spent so much of this past week trying to make sure that he didn't discover her secret, but she never considered how him knowing that she was keeping a secret would affect him.

"I didn't tell you because it wasn't important," she dismissed, "it doesn't mean anything."

"You told Caitlin," he whispered. She'd never seen the tall man look so small, so vulnerable.

She pulled him down into her embrace. Felicity was of the few who knew the wounds that Oliver hid under his armour. He had been abandoned either physically or emotionally by everyone in his life. His father was more of a drill instructor than a father and after he died, Oliver's mother withdrew from the world. Both Thea and Tommy spent a large portion of their childhood in boarding school. Felicity, herself, had considered going to school closer to home, but Oliver had insisted, quite fervently, that she take the scholarship to MIT. She hadn't realised how much her leaving may have affected him until now.

"We're okay," she spoke into his shoulder. "I'm not going anywhere," she promised as she rubbed circles across his back.

When they finally away, Felicity caught his eye. "If it makes you feel any better," she said softly, "I didn't tell Caitlin. She figured it out."

That definitely didn't make him feel better. He knew that she meant well, but it hurt him to the core that Caitlin had figured it out and he could not. It meant that Felicity wasn't just withholding a secret from him, but that he had missed something huge in her life. It meant that he was a bad friend. Had he been so self-involved these last few weeks that he had neglected his best friend?

"So, if I figure it out, you'll tell me who he is?"

Felicity sighed, he was not going to let this go. She couldn't very well say no. "Yes," she agreed, "_if_ you guess." She didn't think that he would ever figure it out anyway.

"Is it Nathan Clarke?"

"No, it's not."

"Aaron Hazelwood?"

"No."

"Shane Smith?"

"Eww, no," she exclaimed outraged. "Why would you think that?"

"I don't know," he said. "He's kind of good looking and you're always with him."

"I'm always with him because we work in the same department," she stated. "And he's a jerk."

"Is it Michael Taylor?"

She glared at him. "He has long hair," she deadpanned.

"So? I used to have long hair."

"And I shaved it off for you."

"You used to like Billy Ray Cyrus," he teased.

She hit him across the shoulder. "I was ten!" she defended, shaking her head. "I never should have told you about that."

They were both shaking with laughter.

"You never answered the question."

She glared at him again and before she could answer a throat cleared behind Oliver. "Excuse me, Mr Queen."

They turned and met the tall frame of Ray Palmer.

"Saved by the executive," she jibed, a smug smile on her face.

Ray volleyed between the two of them with a furrowed brow before deciding to move on.

"Since, you're here, Mr Queen," he began, "would you mind making the announcement. It would be great for PR if you spoke to the press. I've already prepared an awesome speech that'll come up on the teleprompter."

"Of course, Mr Palmer."

Oliver shot her a look that promised the continuation of their conversation and headed up to the podium that was surrounded by cameras and microphones.

Felicity spotted a slight jaw clench in frustration at having to fulfil the 'familial responsibilities' and then it was quickly replaced by his Oliver Queen, heir to the family business persona.

Even though he hadn't worn a tie with his suit, Oliver held an air of confidence and charisma. She couldn't help but admire with way that that his suit moulded to him and charm that his smile held.

"You know he's using you, right?"

Felicity didn't notice the woman who was now next to her. "Excuse me?" She swung her gaze to the voice in aggravation.

The blonde gave the other woman a once over. She was no stranger to Oliver's jealous floozies giving her sass. However, this woman was different, she didn't look like any of the other women that had attacked her about Oliver. She was a gorgeous brunette, dressed smartly in a form-fitting suit. She had an air of class and elegance in her stance.

"Oliver Queen," the woman stated. "He's using you."

"And how, may I ask, is he using me?" Felicity could not keep the irritation and she may or may not have been assessing the pros and cons of decking the other woman.

"He doesn't care about you," she said categorically. Felicity knew that wasn't true, Oliver cared for her, just not in the way she wanted him to.

The blonde could not believe that audacity of this woman. She was making presumptions about both her and Oliver after only just meeting her.

"And how do you know that?"

"He's a playboy, a flirt," she said, "He's been trying to get into my pants all week. You look like a girl with a good head on her shoulders. I don't want you getting hurt."

Felicity was hit with understanding. This is Laurel.

"You're Laurel Lance." The blonde smirked at the surprise that flooded the brunettes face. "Felicity Smoak." She held out her right hand, offering the stunned woman a handshake. "I'm the flirt's best friend."

"His best friend?" she asked still not having shook the hand in front of her.

She nodded to the affirmative.

"I thought that that obnoxiously charming guy at the club was his best friend." Laurel finally picked her jaw off the floor long enough to shake the blonde's hand.

"Tommy? He's a good guy," she stated. "They're both not as shallow as they seem."

Laurel offered a soft smile before her eyes widened. "Oh my God," she exclaimed, "I was such an arrogant jerk. You must think that I'm so full of myself to assume that the only reason Oliver could be here was for me."

For a moment Felicity wondered if she was just as arrogant if she was thinking the same thing.

And just as quickly as the thought came she dismissed it, opting instead to comfort the flustered woman. "It's okay," she said, "Oliver has been persistent in his pursuit of you."

"Is this the part where you tell me that the playboy persona is a defence mechanism and underneath it all lies a heart of gold?"

Felicity smiled at her. She found she actually liked the other woman.

She turned Laurel toward the podium. "Look at Oliver." She gestured to Oliver, who was still captivating the audience with the presentation. "Why do you think Oliver is up there?"

"Well, if he's not here for me," she started, "he's here for you."

Felicity shook her head. "Why do you think he's up there," she pointed, "giving a speech?"

The brunette shrugged, not seeing the point of the conversation. "Family responsibilities?"

"Oliver doesn't care about the family name," she stated. "He's up there because he cares." She pushed her glasses up by the frame, her eyes lingering on Oliver. "He cares about the city."

Laurel watched the transfixed blonde. From the few minutes that they had spent together, she had surmised that the blonde was a genuine person; one with a big heart. She could tell that she really believed all that she was saying. And Laurel considered that she may have been wrong about Oliver, that perhaps her was more than what he presented.

"The 'playboy persona' and the family 'responsibilities'," Felicity continued, "they are a defence mechanism. He doesn't like to show that he cares. It makes him vulnerable and he hates to be vulnerable. There may not be a heart of gold underneath, but there is definitely more than what you see."

"When I first met Oliver," she continued, "he asked me to Photoshop a ten year old girl's head onto a dogs body. I thought that he was such an asshole." Felicity smiled wistfully remembering her high school days. "When I found out that he got someone else to do it instead, I put him in his place. I called him every name under the sun and he just stood there with that arrogant grin on his face. I wanted to slap it right off." She still wanted to do that sometimes when his face was wide with that fake grin. "I wasn't until weeks later that I found out the girl had been bullying his little sister."

"That's still a horrible thing to do to a ten year old," Laurel's voice shook Felicity out of her memory.

"It was," she agreed, "but sometimes Oliver uses horrible methods to show that he cares."

Laurel contemplated the idea. She still wasn't sure that she could trust Oliver, but she no longer thought that he was shallow and self-absorbed. "What if he never shows me what's underneath?" she asked Felicity.

Felicity shrugged. "He definitely won't if you don't let him try."

Both women turned back to the stage, their thoughts plagued by the enthralling man who had the audience eating out of his hands.

Laurel watched him carefully, trying to find the cracks in the mask that Felicity had spoken of.

While Felicity could see the moments when the billionaire was being genuine and it made her love him all the more. She could really see the real him when he spoke of all the businesses that they would be helping, but his façade would return when he spoke of Queen Consolidated.

When the speech was finally over, Oliver made his way over to the two of them. "Well, if it isn't the two most beautiful women in the room," he said with a toothy grin.

"Fancy seeing you here, Oliver," Laurel responded.

"You know I'd never miss a chance to be graced by your beauty," he told Laurel.

Both women rolled their eyes at him.

"Admit it, beautiful," he continued, "you're not here for CNRI, you missed me, didn't you?"

Felicity vaguely registered her brunette's exasperated response, she was focused on the small bit of information that Oliver had revealed: he knew that Laurel would be here for CNRI. It was quite possible that Laurel was right about her best friend's intentions in coming to the this event today. Logically, she knew that Oliver could have more than one reason for being here, it still hurt that she wasn't the sole purpose for his visit. For a split second she considered the words that the taller woman he spoken to her earlier, that Oliver was using her. Perhaps not in the way that Laurel had intended the words, but that he was hiding behind their friendship instead of coming out and being honest with Laurel.

"So, about that date…"

"I didn't agree to a date, Oliver."

Felicity watched as the two exchanged words. Oliver, still grinning, had been continually hitting on the lawyer while she would expertly deflect his attempts constantly. Felicity could, however, detect a small smile hidden by the brunette.

"So, Laurel," Felicity interrupted her best friends latest attempt at flirting, "what is it that you do exactly?"

"I'm a lawyer," she informed the blonde, "I work at City Necessary Resources Initiative." Felicity offered her a soft smile. Of course, she wasn't just beautifully stunning, but also a lawyer with a bleeding heart. "We basically offer legal advice and representation for people who can't afford it."

"I bet they line up around the block to be represented by you," Oliver interjected with a wiggle of the eyebrows.

Laurel turned sharply to Oliver. "Yes, Oliver, they do. I am an excellent attorney," she pronounced unaffected by him.

"How do you pay for everything?" Felicity asked, directing the conversation to safer waters.

"Donations mostly," she explained, "sometimes people will repay us when they come up with the money. Or sometimes large corporations," she tilted her head toward the man, "want to improve their image."

The conversation continued between the three. Mainly it was the two women sharing with each other the different things in their life. Oliver would weave in his own comments and definitely his flirting. And as she listened to the two of them speak he smiled at the thought that this could be a common occurrence, that the three of them could spend much more time together in the future. It was clear to him that the women had taken a liking to each other and Oliver was amazed at how well his world could fit together.

If only he could get Laurel to agree to a date.

* * *

><p>The IT specialist paced the QC hall, eighteen floors above her assigned one. It wasn't such a horrible idea, except the mastermind behind the design of Queen Consolidated insisted that the offices should all have glass walls and she had attracted the confused stares of many executives, also known as her bosses.<p>

Deciding that she couldn't spend her entire lunch hour pacing the floors, she headed toward the office with purpose.

Grateful that the secretary had gone out to lunch, the blonde continued through into the office of the man who was transfixed by the information on his desktop.

He looked up when he heard his door swing open. "Miss Smoak, to what-"

"_His Girl Friday,_" she blurted out. Seeing his confused expression, she elaborated, "the movie. It's playing on Wednesday at The Revival House." He nodded, still not understanding the point. "You seem like a guy who appreciates incessant talking. I mean not because you talk incessantly, I mean you do talk incessantly, not that I think that that is a bad thing." She took a breath to calm her nerves. "I just mean that you, like me, have a tendency to spend an inordinate amount of time in conversation and that you would appreciate watching some other people engaged in witty conversation," she said as calmly a possible. "With me," she added on the end.

She lifted her head to meet the smirking executive. "Let me get this straight, you think that because I talk too much that I would enjoy a movie where people talk too much?"

She sighed. She may as well go for it.

"Ray," she started. "Would you like to go see _His Girl Friday_ with me?"

"_You're _asking _me _out," he grinned. "Wait, wait, wait! We need something to commemorate this momentous occasion." Felicity shook her head at his antics. "Where can we find a painter on short notice, maybe we can remember this with a nice oil painting. Or how about we just go twenty-first century on this? Come take a selfie with me." He began to fish out his phone.

"How about you just say 'yes'?"

An excited Ray grinned at her, only just realising that he hadn't answered her.

"Felicity Smoak, master of the computer, it would be my great honour to accompany you on Wednesday night."

She rolled her eyes at him.

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><p><strong>The End<strong>

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**Just kidding. :D**

**A/N: I'm really nervous about this chapter, the characters weren't behaving the way that I wanted them to, so please, please, please tell me what you thought. ****Follow me on Tumblr for sneak peeks and other random thoughts that may or may not have anything to do with my fanfiction.**

** GreenSmoak-Fanfiction. tumblr. com or there is a link on my profile if you're too lazy.**


	5. Mutually Try

**A/N: I re-wrote this chapter way too many times, hopefully you enjoy it. Thank you to everyone who followed, favourited and/or reviewed this story.**

**To all the Guest reviews, I love hearing your thoughts, but I would love to reply to you personally. I would love it if you set up an account, so I could PM you, but it is totally fine if you don't want to. Thank you to IFancyU, reka, Kim for your continual reviews.**

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><p>"I don't know how you talked me into this."<p>

Felicity smiled at her friend as she ran a straightener through her blond hair. "_You_ talked _me_ into a blind date," she reminded her roommate, "and now you're holding up your end of the bargain."

Caitlin had her entire wardrobe laid out on her bed. "I haven't been on a first date in four years," she whined in agitation, "and didn't even know it was a date, so I didn't spend all this time worrying about how to dress, or how to act."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, even though I've been a few first dates in the last four years, I have no idea how to act either."

"But mine is a blind date," she responded, still sifting through the multitude of clothing on her bed. "He could be a psycho…or a physicist."

"What's wrong with a physicist?" She hadn't yet told Caitlin the identity of her date and she knew that Barry had an affinity for all things science and particularly physics.

"People use physics to try and understand genetics," she said. "There is no dark matter in genetics." She was much more comfortable talking about science.

"What if this physicist had an appreciation for all sciences and promises not to allude to any incorrect ideas on genetics," she said with a grin.

"Felicity Smoak, did you set me up with a physicist?" she asked jumping on the bit of information that the blonde revealed.

She offered her a knowing smile. "You'll find out tonight." Caitlin sighed at not getting any more clues on the identity of her mystery date. "And he said to dress comfortably." She gestured to her clothes.

The two continued getting ready for their respective dates, a comfortable silence enveloping the apartment.

When the doorbell rang, the nerves returned and the two turned to the door, staring. Since both women had yet to develop x-ray vision, Felicity volunteered to be the one to answer. However, the opposite side of the door revealed neither one of their dates, but an uninvited person.

"Thea!" she greeted her, shocked. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry," she said, taking in the blonde's appearance. "I should have called. Ollie never mentioned that you were going on a date."

Felicity adverted her eyes to anywhere but the nosy teenager. "He doesn't know."

"Oh," she replied instead of the many questions that peppered her mind. She always thought that if her brother ever got his head out of his arse, he and Felicity would finally get together. But even if they didn't she had always envied the friendship that the two of them had and found it strange that he wouldn't know of her date.

Masking her shock, she finally managed an enthusiastic "you look beautiful."

"That she does." The women turned to the deep voice that had just ascended the stairs. "And, boy, am I overjoyed that she has finally agreed to a date with me."

Not missing a beat, Thea quickly stepped in front of Ray and held her hand front of her, offering him a handshake. "Thea Queen," she introduced, giving the man a once over. He was dressed impeccably, donning a form-fitting black shirt under his sport coat. His hair was loosely tousled and his look was topped off with his charming grin.

"Ray Palmer," the unfazed man replied with a hint of amusement in his voice. "I didn't realise that I needed to gain approval from my boss' daughter."

"It's actually your boss' boss," she smirked. "And Lissy here is an honorary Queen, so if you hurt her it's not only your job that you have to worry about, but we have the means to make you 'disappear'", she threatened him, making quotation marks.

Ray knew that despite the light hearted way in which he was threatened that it was one hundred percent serious. "I have no intention of treating her as anything less than a queen," he quipped with a grin.

"As much fun as this is," Felicity interjected before the young girl could embarrass her even more. "Why are you here, Thea?"

"Need help with a biology assignment," she said, "but I think interrogating your date is much more interesting."

"Nope, not happening," Felicity quickly pulled the brunette into her apartment before her 'interrogation' could begin. "I'll just be a moment," she said to Ray before enclosing the women inside.

Turning around she came face to face with the brunette, who had decidedly not left her immediate vicinity. "He's hot," she gushed.

Felicity raised a hand before the excited teenager could continue her unabashed fangirling. "I need you to do me favour," she didn't wait for an acknowledgement, "Caitlin has a date tonight and I need you to make sure she goes on it. He should be here in half an hour. Ask her your Biology questions until he gets here, so she stays calm."

"On one condition."

Felicity didn't like the mischievous glint in the younger woman's eye. Years of experience with Thea had taught her that she was definitely up to something. However, she did know that Caitlin could talk herself out of anything, especially a date and Thea was just annoying and determined enough to convince anyone to do anything. So, she relented, "What?"

"That you call me after your date and tell me all about it."

Felicity did consider Thea a friend, even with their age difference, but she was apprehensive because she knew that the teenager loved her gossip and she was worried that the information would somehow make it back to her brother. However, she reasoned that it didn't matter if Oliver knew. He was actively pursuing Laurel, so what difference would it make if she was on a date with Ray.

"Okay, fine," she agreed.

After ducking in to say a word of goodbye to Caitlin, Felicity grabbed her purse and opened the door to a patiently waiting Ray. "Sorry about that," she apologised, "you probably don't want to start a date with a teenage heir to billions interrogating you, unless you're going on a date with a her. Not that you'd want to be interrogated by your date."

A thoroughly entertained Ray grinned at her as he led her to his car with a hand on the small of her back. "You can interrogate me if you want," he replied coolly.

Ever the gentleman, Ray opened the door for her before running around to the driver's side. They began to talk about work, and science, and computers, and the development of the cars, and everything under the sun. It was comfortable and, although the conversation never ceased, it was never forced.

Ray had insisted that, since she had chosen the movie, that he be the one to choose somewhere to eat beforehand. He had told her that there was a very special place near the revival house that he wanted to bring her to. When the car stopped and Ray led her out, Felicity looked around the street, not finding a fancy restaurant as she had expected, but rather they stood in front of a hotdog stand on the side of the street.

"This is where you wanted to have dinner?"

He grinned at her, leading them to the line in front of the stall. "Not what you were expecting?"

"This may have been the exact opposite of what I was expecting," she answered. "When you said your 'favourite place to go', I thought that we'd end up at some fancy French restaurant, where they fold your napkins into swans every time you leave the table."

"Don't doubt Sam's napkin folding abilities until you've asked him."

"I'm not settling for anything short of a swan, Palmer."

"Then, I'll have to fold it myself, if only to salvage this date."

Their moment ended as they reached the front of the line and placed their orders. They found a nearby bench to sit on to consume their meal.

"So," Felicity began, "why is this your favourite place to go?"

"This," he held up his hotdog, "is an awesome hotdog," he declared with a glint in his eye.

She looked at him incredulously. She'd admit that the hotdog was good, but it was nothing to travel for.

"Um," he cleared his throat and looked down at his dinner. "My father used to own this stand," he revealed. "This is the hotdog stand that paid for my college degree. After my father died, I sold it to Sam, but coming here reminds me of my dad and always to be grateful of what I have."

Felicity had assumed by the way that Ray had dressed and the way that he carried himself that he had come from money or, at least, didn't ever struggle to make ends meet. It wasn't that he was a snob or that he was arrogant, it was how comfortable he was mingling with investors and department heads. Oliver was the same way.

"He sounds like a great guy."

"He was," Ray agreed softly, "he did everything for his family." Felicity smiled wistfully as Ray told her stories from his childhood. She envied the relationship that Ray had with his family, she was never close to anyone in her family and, although Oliver had tried to fill that void, it was not the same as being connected to someone by blood. He had story after story of an idyllic family unit and she could see the admiration that the executive had for both his parents.

"What about you?" He asked her. "What are your parents like?"

She hesitated. She never spoke of her parents and it her situation seemed rather pathetic compared to the picturesque image that had been painted of his family. "I never really knew my father," she answered vaguely, "and my mother is…," she struggled to find an adjective to adequately describe to tense relationship between her and her mother, "…my mother."

Wanting desperately to move on, she suggested that they head to the theatre. If Ray noticed her distress, he didn't mention it and for that she was grateful.

As they made their way to the Revival House, their conversation once again entered shallow waters as they discussed cinema. She found that him knowledgeable in most things and that he was very easy to talk to. Their conversation continued until the movie started.

She always enjoyed watching this movie and by Ray's reactions, she could tell that he was also finding it to be a wildly entertaining film.

What she didn't anticipate was how much the movie would remind her of Oliver. The first time that she had watched the movie was with Oliver at the home theatre in the Queen Mansion, and Oliver had, to the best of his ability, tried to imitate Cary Grant whenever he said his signature line of "I'd know you anytime, anyplace, anywhere." And it wasn't just the memory of Oliver reciting the lines, but also the truth of the sentiment. In the film, Cary Grant would charm his ex-wife, who was now engaged to another man, with the line and, even though she and Oliver had never dated, the sentiment of familiarity from her first love remained constant.

She did all that she could to put Oliver out of her mind, reminding herself that this was her opportunity to move on. She put her focus into the man next to her, who was watching this film for the first time. She concentrated on his reactions and the way that he laughed at the comedy in front of him. She found that she liked this carefree side of him. It wasn't the charming smile that he offered her normally or the one that he offered to investors. It was the smile of a little boy as he discovers something new and that warmed her heart.

When the movie was over, they spent the drive to her place talking about their favourite scenes in the movie. They were so entrenched in their conversation that they spent thirty minutes in parked on the street in front of her apartment.

He walked her to her door.

Felicity was nervous, she wasn't sure what the etiquette was for a successful first date or if she was even ready for anything to happen.

She noticed his eyes lingering on her lips for a moment, but was grateful when he instead opted for a hug and sweet words of parting.

She entered her apartment with a huge smile on her face, a result of her successful date. She looked around and noticed that Caitlin hadn't returned home from her date with Barry and that boosted her mood even more. That would be two successful dates tonight.

She picked up her phone to call Thea, happy to have someone to share the night with in absence of her roommate. As it rang the thought occurred that moving on may not be as challenging as she first thought.

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><p><strong>AN: Virtual napkins in the shape of swans to reviewers. :D**


	6. Finally Succeed

**A/N: This is a bit of a filler chapter, hopefully the next one will come along quickly. **

**100 reviews is awesome! Thank you for all the people who have reviewed, particularly jessspider, DrCaitlinSnow, darklou, bdbouchra, Lexi, kimmiknightwing, IFancyU, shikasgirl10, keelsxoxo, Lililovingreading, NorthernLights25, Kim, and RinaTui for their continual support.  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Felicity sat at on a stool leaning over her counter. She was dressed for work sipping her coffee and shifting her gaze between the clock on the wall and her front door. She tapped her fingers on the counter impatiently, hoping that her roommate would be home before she had to leave for work.<p>

When, at last, the tell-tale sounds of keys in the door began to sound, Felicity fixed her stare to the door. The door slowly opened and the perpetrator stuck her head in and blushed under the amused scrutiny of her curious roommate.

"Someone's doing the walk of shame," she accused playfully.

She felt her cheeks continue to heat up, she was sure that they now matched the colour of her hair. "It's not a 'walk of shame'," she defended, "it's just the end of a date."

"Is that what we're calling it now?" she continued to tease her friend. "You're getting home at seven o'clock and you're wearing the same clothes as last night, that looks like the walk of shame to me."

"We just spent the night stargazing," she said glaring at the unrelenting blonde. "Nothing happened."

"That's not what I heard," she countered, "Thea said there was some nerd foreplay going on last night."

"Some what?"

"Nerd foreplay," she repeated. "I believe her exact words were 'They were arguing over my assignment, I never knew nerd foreplay was so hot.'"

"I don't know what that means," she dismissed, "but we we're just discussing DNA structure."

"Not reproduction?" she asked with a raise of the eyebrows, a move that she had picked up from Oliver.

"Stop it!" she smacked the blonde across the shoulder lightly as the two giggled away. When the laughter died down, Caitlin's eyes softened. "Thank you," she said sincerely.

"For what?" she asked. "Setting you up with the guy that you set me up with? I essentially just gave you my leftovers," she said with a shrug of the shoulders.

"No," her voice was soft and earnest, "for telling Thea to stay. I was so nervous and Thea is always a good buffer."

Felicity smiled and pulled her friend into an embrace.

"It was good having Thea there and working on her assignment," she resumed, "it gave us a safe topic of conversation and I didn't have to worry about first dates or what I looked like or whether he liked me or not. We both just talked about science and without meaning to had first date conversation."

Felicity listened intently as Caitlin recounted her date. She mentally patted herself on the back for setting them up, it had been a long time since she had seen her friend this happy and particularly over a guy.

"He's just so goofy," Caitlin tucked her hair behind her ear and couldn't keep the smile off her face. "He just catches me by surprise. I don't think that I've laughed so much is such a long time. We spent the whole night under the stars, looking for the different planets and stars," the excitement was clear in her eyes, " He's so knowledgeable."

"Aren't you glad that I set you up with a physicist?"

"He's a forensic scientist."

"With an avid knowledge of physics."

She rolled her eyes, but eventually conceded, unable to keep the twinkle out of her eye. "Yes, I'll be eternally grateful."

Satisfied with the debrief that she received, Felicity stood and declared that is was time to head into work. Gathering her things and heading out the door, she was stopped by her roommate's voice, "Hey wait," she turned back to her. "How did your date go?"

She looked back thoughtfully, trying to find the right words. "The date was good," she said cautiously, "and Ray is a great guy. He was fine," she finished as she headed out of the apartment.

Caitlin sighed as she watched her roommate leave. She could read between the lines.

_He wasn't Oliver._

* * *

><p>People were particularly stupid today.<p>

It was late in the day and she had received dozens of menial demands from stupid QC employees regarding the use of their computer. It was like they all woke up this morning and collectively forgot how to use a computer. One person had even asked her how to check the time and while that was thoroughly annoying it only required a few seconds of her time. Whereas the many other calls were from overpaid, self-important fools, who insisted she lead them by the hand right through ridiculously simple, but utterly time consuming, tasks.

Of course this was part of her job description and in the months that she had worked at Queen Consolidated she had had days like this. However, it had never fallen on the day in which she also need to complete a full diagnostic of the company's computer system.

After the seventeenth idiotic call, she realised that she would be here all night, so she texted Oliver and cancelled their Thursday night dinner plans. He had responded quickly, telling her that he was needed at Verdant to sort out some 'DJ issues', so it wasn't a big deal. She was secretly relieved that Oliver had not brought up her date with Ray. She was sure that his sister would have informed him of all that happened that previous night and she had no idea what she was going to say to Oliver. She found it strange that Oliver so easily agreed to cancel because normally when she had work to do he would call and try to convince her to go out for a short dinner.

Felicity finally hung up her phone, finishing the latest irritating request. She banged her forehead on the desk in front of her, muttering, "stupid, stupid people."

She jumped up in shock as a she was interrupted by a tall, amused man in a finely tailored suit. "Keen observation, Ms Smoak," he said, "people are indeed stupid. Present company not included.

Felicity raised her head to meet the quick witted man. "Hey, Ray," she greeted absently. "What are you doing here?"

He held up a paper bag, "I noticed that you haven't had lunch. So, I brought you an early dinner."

The blonde tiredly looked over at her watch on her wrist, noticing that it was well into the afternoon and she hadn't eaten since breakfast. "I didn't realise that it was so late," she told him. "You brought me dinner?" He nodded. "Wait! How did you know I haven't had lunch?"

"I may have been waiting for you in the cafeteria."

"Why?" she asked warily.

"I wanted to give you this," he pulled out a napkin from inside the bag, it was shaped as a swan.

She threw her head back and let out a rich laugh. "Don't tell me you spent the morning learning how to do that," she said, shaking her head. "I might need to report you to Walter. Or Thea."

Before he could come back with a retort of his own, the shrill ring of Felicity's phone invaded the air. She slammed her head against the desk again, groaning about the dumb executives and their inability to use a simple computer.

When the pounding in her head subsided, she reached out to pick up the phone only to be hindered by Ray holding the phone in place. "Don't answer it," he instructed her firmly, "take a moment and eat with me. If anyone asks, then I am a dumb executive that doesn't know how to check his email."

"You're the head of R and D," she stated giggling, "no one's going to believe that."

"Hey, not everyone is an IT genius, some people struggle with straightforward tasks such as email." he held his hand to his chest feigning exertion, "It's not a cakewalk for everyone." The phone had long ago stopped ringing, but neither of them cared.

"What exactly is a cakewalk?" she asked opening up the paper bag to see what he had brought.

"No idea," he laid the food across the desk, "but apparently it is easier than email."

The two comfortably ate together, thoroughly enjoying each other's company. She found that he had made her day much brighter. Ray was both intelligent and entertaining.

After a moment of silence, Ray cleared his throat and dropped his fork into the takeaway box. "There's something that I have been meaning to ask you." His expression was serious and he waited for her nod to the affirmative. "Why did you ask me out? You must have turned me down fifteen times. What changed?"

That was an easy question to answer in her mind. Oliver. However, she couldn't very well say that to Ray. In fact, she hadn't actually said it out loud to anyone, not even Caitlin. It made the decision seem so final as if admitting it somehow meant that she would never have a chance with Oliver ever again.

Felicity fixated on her meal trying desperately to find a suitable answer. "I guess I just got tired of living life on the sidelines," she vaguely replied.

"Why?"

"What do you mean 'why'?"

"I mean why did you change your mind?" he clarified. "Why was the sideline satisfactory the first fifteen times I asked you out?"

"I think…I realised that I was holding out for something unattainable," she confessed quietly, "I was waiting for something magical; a fairytale, I guess, something unrealistic."

Ray hummed in response, he wasn't sure what exactly he was expecting from his question and he wasn't sure, now that he got her answer, if it was what he wanted to hear or if it settled any of the questions he had about the blonde's sudden interest in him. He picked his fork back up, but did not start to eat again, his mind working in overdrive.

"So," he started, "I'm attainable and realistic." He desperately wanted to ask if what they were was not magical, but he was afraid of her answer. He reasoned that what they had could become 'magical' in time, that it could be if she gave him the chance to prove it to her.

She nodded. "You _wanted_ to go out with me. You were safe."

A few more moments of tense silence passed and Ray concluded that he needed to take some time to think about how he wanted to proceed next. Deciding that he had lost his appetite he cleaned up her desk and moved to leave the IT department. "We'll talk more later," he said rather half-heartedly, "I'll leave you to your work."

Felicity watched him leave, her thoughts far from the work that she was supposed to be doing. She wasn't sure that she was ready to let the idea of Oliver go. She had held onto the idea for eight years and it broke her heart to think about letting go of that part of her life.

She knew that she had to make a decision, that it wasn't fair to Ray to lead him on, but the fact the Laurel had not reciprocated Oliver's feelings gave her a strange sense of hope. She didn't even know exactly what it is that she expected to happen if Oliver gave up on Laurel. Would she try to confess her feelings to him again? Would it even matter? He's known her for a third of his life and he's doesn't appear to be as relationship-phobic as she had initially thought, so it would it really matter if Laurel was out of the picture?

She pulled her hair out of her traditional tight ponytail to relieve in an effort to relieve her headache. She began to rub her temples and rest her head against her desk. However, nothing could relax her mind. It was working in overdrive. She wondered for a moment how she had gotten into this situation, how her once quiet life had become a soap opera.

She decided that a decision was not going to be made tonight and focused back on the computer in front of her. The tapping of her fingers on her keyboard soothed her mind, the sound lulling it to still.

Although she was happy with her decision to postpone her decision, the universe appeared to have a very cruel sense of humour. Late into the night, as she was finishing the system diagnostic, she chime of her phone indicated an incoming message from Oliver that made the decision for her.

_She finally said yes. You have to help me plan the date._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I promise Oliver will be in the next chapter and all will begin to come to a head.  
><strong>


	7. Angrily Argue

"How about a seven course meal at Table Salt?" He asked her, placing a cup of coffee in front of her.

"Nope."

"Why not?"

"Dinner?" she scoffed, "it's done to death." She took a sip of her coffee and moaned in appreciation remembering that he knew exactly how she took it.

"We do have to eat."

"Not at a five star restaurant you don't," she countered, remembering the hotdog stand that Ray had taken her to. "It's too impersonal."

Felicity was over at the Queen's mansion as per the request of one Oliver Queen. The two best friends had spent the past fifteen minutes like this; Oliver coming up with ideas for his date and Felicity rejecting his ideas.

"What about a catered dinner on the Queen's Gambit?"

"Are you crazy?" he returned her look with questioning eyes. "Anything can happen out in the water. Haven't you ever seen _Titanic_, or _Poseidon_, _or Jaws, _or _Jaws 2_, or _Jaws 3_?"

"Should I be worried that you've seen the Jaws sequels?" he asked, good-naturedly.

"I actually never watched them," she clarified, "but I assume that they still have a shark in them. Although, _Speed 2_ didn't have Keanu Reeves in it, so what do I know?"

He grinned at her and her ability to babble about anything before continuing his laundry list of ideas. "A helicopter ride?"

"Uh, uh," she shook her head, "you can't hold a conversation on a helicopter."

"Scuba diving?"

"You hate scuba diving."

"But she might like it," he tried to justify it, pouting.

"Why don't you do something that you both will like?"

"Wine tasting?"

Felicity hid the sharp breath that she had sucked in. That was the perfect idea…for herself and Oliver. She remembered her sixteenth birthday so well, she had been adamant about not celebrating, but Oliver had insisted that it was mandatory to have alcohol. Either to celebrate or to make her forget why she didn't want to celebrate. He had raided the Queen cellar and brought back an expensive bottle of red wine and ever since then, they had always bonded over a bottle of wine.

She quickly collected herself and shook her head in negation, not trusting that he voice would come out clearly.

"Do you have a suggestion, then?" She was relieved that he didn't ask her for a reason for her refusal because she wasn't sure that she could give a good reason.

"She said that she wanted you to show her more." He nodded, ready to contemplate her advice. "'More' doesn't mean more money. She knows that you are a billionaire. 'More' means more of you."

"What if she doesn't like what she sees?" he asked, self-consciously.

Felicity melted at the sight of her best friend so insecure. She could tell how much this meant to him. "She will," she assured him with a hand on his arm. "And if she doesn't then she isn't worth it," she repeated the words that Caitlin had spoken to her when she was insecure about Oliver returning her feelings. It amazed her how long ago that seemed.

"What if she decides that I'm not worth it?" he continued, "There's a reason I've never had a girlfriend before." Felicity was painfully aware of that, it was the reason that she had never confessed her feelings for him.

"You dated McKenna Hall in senior year for a week," she stated, "you never did tell me why you broke up."

"She thought I was cheating on her."

"Were you?" she asked, knowing his reputation.

"No, I wasn't," he replied pushing his lips into a thin line, "she thought I was cheating on her with you."

"What?!" she exclaimed, turning her head sharply toward the cowering man. "Why would she think that?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "We spent a lot of time together."

"Yeah, but we weren't _together_ together." She certainly would have remembered if they were. "I mean we were together physically, but we-" her eyes widened realising the implications of she had said. "I definitely don't mean physically like we were having sex," now she was blushing at the mess that was coming out of her mouth. "Not that having sex with you is such a horrifying thing." Oliver was fixated on the blonde, the edges of his lips turned up in amusement. "I just mean that we didn't do anything that ventured beyond the realms of friendship," she concluded and then promptly buried her head into a couch cushion to hide the red tinge that had covered her cheeks.

Oliver chuckled as he heard the muffled "kill me now" that resonated from the cushion. "If it makes you feel any better, she didn't think that we were sleeping together."

Felicity's head shot up with a questioning expression. "Then why did she think you were cheating on her?"

"She said that I shared things with you that I didn't with her," he recalled running a hand through his hair. "Things that I should share with my girlfriend."

Felicity frowned. She knew that Oliver told her things that no one else knew, but she never thought that it was so obvious that someone who had spent only a week with them could see it so clearly. Before she could allow her heart feel any more than a slither of hope that Oliver somewhere deep down felt the same way about her as she did him, she reminded herself that the reason she was here was because Oliver wanted someone else, that he was actively pursuing another.

"Maybe that's the key," she broke their contemplative silence, "Maybe you need to share that part of you with Laurel."

"How?" he queried, "I can't just start spouting my life story."

The blonde pushed her glasses up as she sought a way to her friend in his dilemma. "What about if you show her the mansion," she said, surveying he surroundings. "This place is filled with random things about you."

He looked around as well, weighing the idea in his mind. "That's a great idea," he face breaking out into a grin, "I can give a tour of the house and then we can have a picnic out in the gardens."

"As long as you don't cook."

"You could come over and help me," he grinned at her.

Not only did she overwhelmingly not want to be there to help him prepare, she was almost as horrible a cook as he was and he knew it. "The last time that we cooked together, Raisa banned us from the kitchen."

"I'm sure I can charm her into letting us in there," he claimed, shooting her his most charming grin.

"Even if that's true, I don't think we'll leave the kitchen with anything edible."

"Raisa can help us," he stated.

"Then why do I need to be there?" She tried to find is gaze, but the billionaire was looking down with the guise of scratching the back of his neck. "Oliver," she called out sternly waiting for his blue to meet hers, "why do you want me there?"

"Moral support?" He had said it as a question, but Felicity knew better. He meant it as a pleading request that he didn't know how to voice.

"Fine," she said watching his face light up, "but there better not be a food fight. It took me forever to get it all out of my hair last time."

The smile remained constant as he recollected the conclusion of their last cooking expedition. "I promise," he assured her. "It's Saturday in two weeks."

"Two weeks?"

"Yeah, she and her friend Joanna have a reunion or something at Yale. They're making a road trip out of it," Oliver noticed Felicity fighting and smile at the mention of a road trip. "Don't say it," he warned.

"Say what?" she asked, innocently.

"You know what."

"I have no idea what you are talking about, Mr. Queen," she returned playfully.

"Uh huh, sure," he hummed challenging the blonde whose cheeks were raised and eyes bright, but she fought the smile in her lips.

"Pork sandwiches!" she blurted out when she couldn't hold it in any longer. He shook his head at her, her contagious enthusiasm not escaping his features. He had driven up to Massachusetts with her when she started MIT. Felicity, at the start of the trip, decided to have a pork sandwich as her first act of freedom from her Jewish roots. She had loved it so much that they ended up eating pork sandwiches all across the country. "I'm going to see if Raisa can make us some for lunch," she declared, leaving the room in search of the woman.

Twenty minutes later they were digging into their sandwiches, watching whatever movie was on television that afternoon.

However, Felicity's attention was far from the plot of the movie. Today had confirmed in her mind that she should let Oliver go and move on, possibly with Ray. So, she was now biting her bottom lip and glancing at Oliver out of the corner of her eye, trying to come up with a way to tell him about her date.

"Spit it out," Oliver said, not taking his eyes of the screen.

"What?"

"Whatever it is you want to say to me." He turned to her for a split second before returning to the movie.

She studied his profile. "How do you know I have something to say?"

He smirked, still focused straight ahead. "You keep looking my way."

"Maybe I'm contemplating a haircut." Or how good you look, she added in her mind.

He faced her and raised his eyebrows incredulously.

She took in a deep breath and complied. "I went on a date on Wednesday," she mumbled, silently hoping that he'd have nothing to say about it.

"What?" he shrieked.

"…with Ray"

Oliver opened his mouth multiple times, trying to find the right thing to say. "I thought that you didn't like Ray," he asked, confusion enveloping his face.

"_You_ didn't like Ray," she stated.

"Because he's a st-"

"He wasn't stalking me, Oliver," she cut him off in exasperation, not wanting to rehash the same conversation again.

"I don't understand," he said with his brows furrowed. "Ray's an uptight business exec, totally not your type."

"Ray's not uptight, Oliver," she replied unable to keep the irritation out of her voice.

"He's just…," he was searching for the words to describe the man, "he seems like a tool."

"A tool?" she echoed incredulously, "You think he's a tool from the one time that you met him…at a charity event?" Felicity couldn't believe that Oliver was reacting this way. She had been reluctant to reveal her date to Oliver because to her it meant that she was concluding her infatuation with the billionaire. She never considered that he would have an issue with Ray himself.

"I just don't like him, okay?"

"No, it's not okay," she yelled, placing her sandwich on its plate, "since when do I need your approval on who I date? It's not like you asked for my permission when you asked Laurel out."

"Well at least I told you," he countered, now matching her volume, "you don't tell me anything anymore."

Felicity laughed bitterly, the memory of him telling her was seared into her mind. No amount of alcohol could erase that memory. "That's because this last month has been all about Laurel," she spat at him, "you've been so preoccupied with her that everyone else's life doesn't matter."

He gasped, meeting her eyes sharply. He looked like he had been slapped in the face. His jaw lay pathetically open unable for form words.

Watching him flounder, Felicity immediately regretted her words. Oliver had not been a negligent friend, he had gone out of his way to hang out with her and her jealousy of Laurel had been amplified by the fact that he had help her heart for so long.

She reached out and stroked his arm, trying to sooth his worries, "I didn't tell you because I thought Thea already did."

"Thea knows?!" He retracted his arm quickly, once again raising his voice. "So you tell Thea about your date and Caitlin about the guy." He was up on his feet, towering over her. "Why am I always the last to know? Are we even friends anymore?"

"Screw you, Oliver," she shouted, "I just spent the morning helping you plan a date and you have the audacity to ask whether we are still friends. Trust me," she continued, "I have much better things to do than deal with your obsession with that woman. And I didn't tell Thea anything, she found out and I definitely never told Caitlin about the guy, she figured it out because she _is _my friend."

She was fuming as she picked up her purse and headed towards the exit, turning her back on Oliver.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Please, don't hurt me or Oliver.**


End file.
